Ethanol-induced increases in extracellular dopamine are blunted in brain-derived neurotrophic factor heterozygous mice.

Drugs of abuse like ethanol have the ability to stimulate forebrain dopaminergic pathways. Although the positive reinforcing properties of abused substances are largely attributed to their effects on dopamine transmission, alcohol addiction involves complex interactions between numerous molecular mediators. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is suggested to have a protective role in regulating the reinforcing effects of ethanol. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of an acute, systemic injection of ethanol (2 g/kg) on BDNF protein levels and extracellular dopamine concentrations, measured by in vivo microdialysis, in the caudate-putamen of wildtype and heterozygous BDNF mice. In both genotypes, the peak increase in extracellular dopamine following ethanol coincided temporally with a decrease in BDNF protein levels following a similar ethanol treatment. Moreover, the effect of ethanol to increase extracellular dopamine was blunted in heterozygous BDNF mice compared to wildtype mice. While the magnitude of decrease in BDNF protein induced by ethanol was similar between genotypes (two-fold), ethanol treatment induced significantly lower BDNF protein levels in heterozygous BDNF mice overall. These findings suggest the effects of ethanol are influenced by an interaction between BDNF and dopamine transmission, which may relate to the pathway through which BDNF regulates ethanol intake.